Was I discriminated against when trying to rent a place?
March 21, 2011 2:23 PM Subscribe
Was I discriminated against?
Long story, well, still long:
My husband and I own a 3-unit home in MD (1 unit is rented out and we occupy 2 units). For various reasons we need to move back into DC in the next six months. We found a home that would work really well for our family (3 kids). We applied, paid a $50 application fee, and were told 2 weeks later that we were denied because of our credit.
I was shocked to say the least because I have excellent credit (above 750); however, my husband had a couple of late payments on his student loans, so his credit is not as good as mine, but not horrible (not sure of the fico estimate). Additionally, we make way more than enough money to pay for the home (rental price was $2300 per month, my husband make around 82000 per year and I make about 40000 per year working part-time). Our current mortgage is $2800 and we have the basement unit rented out for $1100 and can easily rent out the two units we occupy for a combined $2500, covering the entire mortgage and then some. We currently have enough in the bank to cover the mortgage for the units being empty for two months and to pay the first month's rent and security deposit (not including retirement accounts, etc.)
Anyway, I pulled my credit to see if a mistake had been made or something and was surprised to find that the broker never even checked my credit. I am remembering the conversation that I had with our agent when he told me that we were denied that they didn't like that my husband made all the money and had bad credit.
So, do you think that they denied our application because they didn't even consider my income/credit? If so, is it appropriate to write a strongly worded letter to them informing them of my irritation? When we filled out the application, they were very clear that every adult needed to be on the lease and fill out an application; however, how can they make a decision about us when they haven't considered all of us? We sent them the money with the understanding that they would honestly consider us as applicants, but I feel that my contributions were not even considered. I am fuming about this because I feel that they strung us along for 2 two weeks and then gave us some half-assed excuse for why they denied us.
Long story, well, still long:
My husband and I own a 3-unit home in MD (1 unit is rented out and we occupy 2 units). For various reasons we need to move back into DC in the next six months. We found a home that would work really well for our family (3 kids). We applied, paid a $50 application fee, and were told 2 weeks later that we were denied because of our credit.
I was shocked to say the least because I have excellent credit (above 750); however, my husband had a couple of late payments on his student loans, so his credit is not as good as mine, but not horrible (not sure of the fico estimate). Additionally, we make way more than enough money to pay for the home (rental price was $2300 per month, my husband make around 82000 per year and I make about 40000 per year working part-time). Our current mortgage is $2800 and we have the basement unit rented out for $1100 and can easily rent out the two units we occupy for a combined $2500, covering the entire mortgage and then some. We currently have enough in the bank to cover the mortgage for the units being empty for two months and to pay the first month's rent and security deposit (not including retirement accounts, etc.)
Anyway, I pulled my credit to see if a mistake had been made or something and was surprised to find that the broker never even checked my credit. I am remembering the conversation that I had with our agent when he told me that we were denied that they didn't like that my husband made all the money and had bad credit.
So, do you think that they denied our application because they didn't even consider my income/credit? If so, is it appropriate to write a strongly worded letter to them informing them of my irritation? When we filled out the application, they were very clear that every adult needed to be on the lease and fill out an application; however, how can they make a decision about us when they haven't considered all of us? We sent them the money with the understanding that they would honestly consider us as applicants, but I feel that my contributions were not even considered. I am fuming about this because I feel that they strung us along for 2 two weeks and then gave us some half-assed excuse for why they denied us.
What would you hope to get out of the strongly-worded letter? They didn't do anything illegal here, and there's no way they're going to suddenly change their mind because of it. Just move on.
posted by brainmouse at 2:33 PM on March 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by brainmouse at 2:33 PM on March 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Could be they don't like the three kids, or could be DarlingBri's suggestion, or could be broker making some side cash by collecting extraneous application fees. Probably no harm in calling/writing to ask for an explanation if you want to make them sweat a little bit, since I expect you don't intend to do business with them again, but I'm not sure what benefit you'll reap, either. I would certainly check your husband's credit report first; you can do it for free (don't need the FICO score to see if the broker made a credit inquiry, at least).
posted by dixiecupdrinking at 2:33 PM on March 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by dixiecupdrinking at 2:33 PM on March 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
No, you weren't a victim of discrimination on what you've given us here.
Yes, go ahead and pursue this. Sometimes it is a mistake. I just hunted down a denial of a credit card which I didn't really want, because I was told in the denial letter it was due to "delinquencies." As my free credit report confirmed, I have none. It turned out to be a coding error, and the reason for the denial had nothing to do with the quality of my credit rating.
posted by bearwife at 2:37 PM on March 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Yes, go ahead and pursue this. Sometimes it is a mistake. I just hunted down a denial of a credit card which I didn't really want, because I was told in the denial letter it was due to "delinquencies." As my free credit report confirmed, I have none. It turned out to be a coding error, and the reason for the denial had nothing to do with the quality of my credit rating.
posted by bearwife at 2:37 PM on March 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
You were not legally discriminated against because credit worthiness/income is not a protected class. If the reason you were given for being denied the rental unit was insufficient credit worthiness, you're out of luck.
If you believe that they denied the rental unit to you for a reason which does put you in a protected class, such as not wanting to rent to you because you have children, and you think they gave you the bad credit reason in order to sidestep this, then yes, strongly worded letter it is. Don't expect them to budge without filing a lawsuit though.
What do you want the outcome to be? I can't imagine you want to live in a rental unit where the landlord doesn't want you.
posted by juniperesque at 2:52 PM on March 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
If you believe that they denied the rental unit to you for a reason which does put you in a protected class, such as not wanting to rent to you because you have children, and you think they gave you the bad credit reason in order to sidestep this, then yes, strongly worded letter it is. Don't expect them to budge without filing a lawsuit though.
What do you want the outcome to be? I can't imagine you want to live in a rental unit where the landlord doesn't want you.
posted by juniperesque at 2:52 PM on March 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
This is not illegal. What happened here is that the person with the income also has the poor credit score. The other person (you) is irrelevant to their calculations because you don't have a full-time income.
We applied, paid a $50 application fee
Don't pay application fees unless a) they're refundable and b) they can be applied to the first month's rent. However...
Anyway, I pulled my credit to see if a mistake had been made or something and was surprised to find that the broker never even checked my credit.
If you really can prove they didn't check your credit, and the application fee was for the purpose of them running a credit check, then they have accepted the fee on false pretenses.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 2:55 PM on March 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
We applied, paid a $50 application fee
Don't pay application fees unless a) they're refundable and b) they can be applied to the first month's rent. However...
Anyway, I pulled my credit to see if a mistake had been made or something and was surprised to find that the broker never even checked my credit.
If you really can prove they didn't check your credit, and the application fee was for the purpose of them running a credit check, then they have accepted the fee on false pretenses.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 2:55 PM on March 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
Possibly. Maybe they find kids a hassle, maybe they promised their sister's roommate's cousin first shot at the place, maybe they didn't like the ethnicity of your name. There's probably a very slim chance that your stern letter will alert maybe a supervisor or something to somebody's failure to follow procedure, but it's very unlikely that someone's going to actually call you back and say, "Yeah, we discriminated and you caught us. Shucks."
posted by Lyn Never at 2:55 PM on March 21, 2011
posted by Lyn Never at 2:55 PM on March 21, 2011
How do you know they didn't run your credit? I'm sorry if this is obviously stated and I'm missing it, I just am not sure if they told you this or if you are getting that impression from running your own report and not seeing their ping on it. They may have pulled another bureau's or may run it under another name, I wouldn't rely on this. Rather than writing the letter, I would start with asking for a copy of the credit report that they ran. You paid for it (that was the app fee more than likely) so insist on seeing it. That way you will know for sure whether they ran it or not and what they found. Take a serious look at your husband's credit. Missing student loan payments does a lot of damage. And with his income being the bigger number and your current place being rented out to as yet unidentified renters (ie you don't have a contract yet) if that FICO number wasn't great, I can see them denying this.
Not saying they didn't discriminate but based on what you've said, I don't see a legitimate claim for it yet. I mean, they can decline to rent based on income, credit, job security etc til the cows come home-discrimination would have to be denial on a particular basis-gender, race, that you have kids, or one of any number of other possibilities.
posted by supercapitalist at 3:24 PM on March 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Not saying they didn't discriminate but based on what you've said, I don't see a legitimate claim for it yet. I mean, they can decline to rent based on income, credit, job security etc til the cows come home-discrimination would have to be denial on a particular basis-gender, race, that you have kids, or one of any number of other possibilities.
posted by supercapitalist at 3:24 PM on March 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Possibly. But it would be hard to prove it.
I have horrible credit but good income. My boyfriend has kind of okay credit and makes less than me.
Our current manager and the last apartment manager both told us that everything would be fine because I have the income and he has the credit.
I'm guessing other apartment managers may not see it this way and would prefer the person with the most income to have decent credit. I've never had any landlords/apartment managers that had this qualification in the past 6 years I've been renting, though.
Since my credit has been crappy (almost fixed at this point), I always as ahead of time.
posted by KogeLiz at 3:25 PM on March 21, 2011
I have horrible credit but good income. My boyfriend has kind of okay credit and makes less than me.
Our current manager and the last apartment manager both told us that everything would be fine because I have the income and he has the credit.
I'm guessing other apartment managers may not see it this way and would prefer the person with the most income to have decent credit. I've never had any landlords/apartment managers that had this qualification in the past 6 years I've been renting, though.
Since my credit has been crappy (almost fixed at this point), I always as ahead of time.
posted by KogeLiz at 3:25 PM on March 21, 2011
Response by poster: They can discount my income because I work part-time??? That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.
posted by Shark Tail at 4:36 PM on March 21, 2011
posted by Shark Tail at 4:36 PM on March 21, 2011
Shark TailPoster: They can discount my income because I work part-time??? That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard
More accurately, they can discard your application because the primary wage earner in your family fails their credit guidelines.
posted by DarlingBri at 5:03 PM on March 21, 2011
More accurately, they can discard your application because the primary wage earner in your family fails their credit guidelines.
posted by DarlingBri at 5:03 PM on March 21, 2011
That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.
I find this hard to believe.
Though not always the case, part time income tends to be less reliable.
The only thing they care about, presumably, is being sure you'll be able to make rent. If your part-time hours get cut and your late-paying husband forgets to send in a check, what are they going to do?
Until you actually pull your husband's credit report, your rage is unjustifiable.
posted by toomuchpete at 5:04 PM on March 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
I find this hard to believe.
Though not always the case, part time income tends to be less reliable.
The only thing they care about, presumably, is being sure you'll be able to make rent. If your part-time hours get cut and your late-paying husband forgets to send in a check, what are they going to do?
Until you actually pull your husband's credit report, your rage is unjustifiable.
posted by toomuchpete at 5:04 PM on March 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
Is it possible that your credit is good, but not as good as another applicant?
There answer might not tell the whole story. I would call and ask for a better explanation before doing anything.
posted by Felex at 5:25 PM on March 21, 2011
There answer might not tell the whole story. I would call and ask for a better explanation before doing anything.
posted by Felex at 5:25 PM on March 21, 2011
Were you actually denied, or just passed up in favor of someone else with better credit. You should pull your husband's credit and find out if there's something going on there that you weren't aware of.
Can you ask what specifically about your credit led to your rejection?
posted by elpea at 5:44 PM on March 21, 2011
Can you ask what specifically about your credit led to your rejection?
posted by elpea at 5:44 PM on March 21, 2011
How many credit checks and applications did you pay for?
Here is the thing. I'm sorta wondering if they ran your husband's credit at all.
- It sounds like a really lame excuse
- Trust me a hundred different ways you do NOT want these folks as landlords if they dropped the ball, made up excuses, or otherwise strung you along (I mean, it's clear they strung you along.)
- Applying for apartments when you can't be there in-person is going to be a faulty and expensive process no matter what.
Please update the thread after you see your husband's credit.
posted by jbenben at 5:51 PM on March 21, 2011
Here is the thing. I'm sorta wondering if they ran your husband's credit at all.
- It sounds like a really lame excuse
- Trust me a hundred different ways you do NOT want these folks as landlords if they dropped the ball, made up excuses, or otherwise strung you along (I mean, it's clear they strung you along.)
- Applying for apartments when you can't be there in-person is going to be a faulty and expensive process no matter what.
Please update the thread after you see your husband's credit.
posted by jbenben at 5:51 PM on March 21, 2011
I would be curious to see what DC landlord/tenant law says about screening fees. In my state we can not charge a fee unless all the screening criteria are disclosed in writting. Ask to see what their criteria are. Maybe 3 late payments on an account is enough to trigger a denial.
posted by vespabelle at 9:55 PM on March 21, 2011
posted by vespabelle at 9:55 PM on March 21, 2011
We applied, paid a $50 application fee
Sorry for the de-rail but what is an Application Fee? - you have to pay just to APPLY to rent a flat? That just seems blatant extortion. Is that legal in the USA?
What a scam - Estate Agents already get a cut from the rent, how do they justify charging the applier as well.
posted by mary8nne at 8:33 AM on March 22, 2011
Sorry for the de-rail but what is an Application Fee? - you have to pay just to APPLY to rent a flat? That just seems blatant extortion. Is that legal in the USA?
What a scam - Estate Agents already get a cut from the rent, how do they justify charging the applier as well.
posted by mary8nne at 8:33 AM on March 22, 2011
They can discount my income because I work part-time??? That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.
They can use any criteria they want to deny you, with the exception of a small number of legally protected category. What these categories are will depend on Maryland law as well as US federal law (neither of which I am familiar with).
posted by atrazine at 10:36 AM on March 22, 2011
They can use any criteria they want to deny you, with the exception of a small number of legally protected category. What these categories are will depend on Maryland law as well as US federal law (neither of which I am familiar with).
posted by atrazine at 10:36 AM on March 22, 2011
Sorry for the de-rail but what is an Application Fee? - you have to pay just to APPLY to rent a flat? That just seems blatant extortion. Is that legal in the USA?
The payment is to cover the cost of the credit check, and as vespabelle says I've always signed something saying exactly that and with the caveat that I'm allowed to see the credit check that they run if I ask for it. I don't know what an Estate Agent is, I've rented either from an owner or a Property Manager for a complex, but it's a payment for a direct fee they will have to incur.
posted by brainmouse at 11:54 AM on March 22, 2011
The payment is to cover the cost of the credit check, and as vespabelle says I've always signed something saying exactly that and with the caveat that I'm allowed to see the credit check that they run if I ask for it. I don't know what an Estate Agent is, I've rented either from an owner or a Property Manager for a complex, but it's a payment for a direct fee they will have to incur.
posted by brainmouse at 11:54 AM on March 22, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
Shark Tail: "my husband had a couple of late payments on his student loans, so his credit is not as good as mine, but not horrible (not sure of the fico estimate). "
You need to pull his credit score, not just your own, to see what they saw when they ran a credit check.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:28 PM on March 21, 2011 [5 favorites]